Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 7

Vocabulary

为了

wèile — In order to; for the purpose of achieving something.

削弱

xuēruò — To weaken or reduce the strength of something.

他们

tāmen — They; third-person plural pronoun.

的

de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification.

智识

zhìshí — Intellectual knowledge; mental understanding and wisdom.

蒙蔽

méngbì — To deceive or obscure someone's judgment or perception.

心智

xīnzhì — Mind and intellect; mental faculties of a person.

败坏

bàihuài — To corrupt or ruin morals, reputation, or character.

道德

dàodé — Morality; ethical principles guiding human behavior.

本性

běnxìng — Innate nature; one's fundamental or original character.

抹去

mǒqù — To erase or wipe away completely.

与

yǔ — And; with; connecting two nouns or phrases.

人类

rénlèi — Humanity; all human beings as a collective group.

之间

zhījiān — Between; among two or more people or things.

一切

yīqiè — All; everything; every single thing without exception.

关系

guānxi — Relationship; connection between people or things.

痕迹

hénjì — Trace; mark or remnant left behind by something.

什么

shénme — What; used in questions or as an indefinite reference.

手段

shǒuduàn — Means; method or measure used to achieve an end.

都

dōu — All; both; indicating totality or inclusiveness.

用尽

yòngjìn — To exhaust all; to use up every available resource.

了

le — Particle indicating completed action or change of state.

然而

rán'ér — However; yet; expressing contrast with what was said.

竟

jìng — Surprisingly; unexpectedly; to one's astonishment.

以

yǐ — With; by means of; using a particular method.

如此

rúcǐ — Such; like this; to such a degree or extent.

令人

lìngrén — Causing people to feel a certain way; making one feel.

惊叹

jīngtàn — To marvel at; to exclaim in astonishment or admiration.

力量

lìliàng — Strength; power; force or energy to do things.

承受

chéngshòu — To bear or endure pressure, pain, or hardship.

着

zhe — Particle indicating ongoing action or persistent state.

最为

zuìwéi — Most; to the greatest degree; extremely.

可怖

kěbù — Terrifying; dreadful; inspiring extreme fear or horror.

奴役

núyì — Enslavement; subjugation of people as slaves.

之

zhī — Classical possessive or linking particle; of.

重压

zhòngyā — Heavy burden; extreme oppressive pressure or weight.

在

zài — At; in; existing at a location or time.

这

zhè — This; referring to something nearby or just mentioned.

之下

zhīxià — Under; beneath; below a condition or authority.

呻吟

shēnyín — To groan or moan under pain or suffering.

数百年

shù bǎi nián — Hundreds of years; several centuries of time.

阐明

chǎnmíng — To clarify; to explain or expound something clearly.

制度

zhìdù — System; institution; established rules or social structure.

对

duì — Toward; regarding; concerning a person or thing.

白人

báirén — White person; person of Caucasian racial background.

影响

yǐngxiǎng — Influence; effect one thing has on another.

说明

shuōmíng — To explain; to demonstrate or illustrate a point.

这种

zhèzhǒng — This kind of; this type of situation or thing.

处境

chǔjìng — Circumstances; the situation someone finds themselves in.

下

xià — Under; below; beneath a condition or circumstance.

忍耐力

rěnnàilì — Endurance; capacity to tolerate hardship or difficulty.

并不

bìng bù — Not at all; emphasizing negation of an assumption.

胜于

shèngyú — To surpass; to be better than something else.

他

tā — He; him; third-person singular masculine pronoun.

黑人

hēirén — Black person; person of African descent.

同胞

tóngbāo — Compatriot; fellow countryman or fellow human being.

普遍

pǔbiàn — Universal; widespread; common across all cases.

解放

jiěfàng — Liberation; freeing people from oppression or bondage.

运动

yùndòng — Movement; organized campaign for social or political change.

杰出

jiéchū — Outstanding; exceptionally distinguished or talented.

倡导者

chàngdǎozhě — Advocate; person who actively promotes a cause.

虽被

suī bèi — Although subjected to; even though overcome by something.

压倒

yādǎo — To overwhelm; to overpower or crush completely.

却

què — Yet; but; expressing contrast or unexpected result.

未被

wèi bèi — Not having been subjected to; not yet overcome by.

征服

zhēngfú — To conquer; to subdue completely by force or willpower.

爱尔兰

Ài'ěrlán — Ireland; island nation in northwestern Europe.

最

zuì — Most; superlative degree marker in Chinese.

强有力

qiángyǒulì — Powerful; strong and forceful in action or argument.

斗士

dòushì — Fighter; champion who battles for a cause.

于

yú — At; in; on; classical preposition indicating time or place.

3月

sān yuè — March; the third month of the year.

31日

sānshíyī rì — The 31st day of a month.

和解

héjiě — Reconciliation; reaching agreement after conflict or dispute.

大厅

dàtīng — Hall; large room used for public gatherings or events.

向

xiàng — Toward; to; directed at a person or group.

忠诚

zhōngchéng — Loyal; faithful and devoted to a cause or person.

全国

quánguó — National; throughout the entire country or nation.

废除

fèichú — To abolish; to formally put an end to a law or system.

协会

xiéhuì — Association; organization formed around a shared purpose.

发表

fābiǎo — To deliver or publish a speech, article, or statement.

演讲

yǎnjiǎng — Speech; formal public address delivered to an audience.

中

zhōng — In; within; inside a context, speech, or document.

讲述

jiǎngshù — To narrate; to tell or recount a story or event.

以下

yǐxià — The following; what comes below or afterward.

这则

zhè zé — This (anecdote/story); classifier for short narratives.

轶事

yìshì — Anecdote; short amusing or interesting story about someone.

先生

xiānsheng — Mister; sir; respectful form of address for a man.

说

shuō — To say; to speak; to express in words.

无论

wúlùn — No matter; regardless of what conditions apply.

奴隶制

núlìzhì — Slavery; the institution of owning people as property.

何种

hézhǒng — What kind of; whichever type or variety.

冠冕堂皇

guānmiǎn tánghuáng — High-sounding; using grand pretexts to justify wrongdoing.

名义

míngyì — Name; pretext; nominal justification for an action.

掩饰

yǎnshì — To disguise or cover up something unpleasant or wrong.

自身

zìshēn — Itself; oneself; referring back to the subject itself.

它

tā — It; third-person singular pronoun for non-human things.

依然

yīrán — Still; as before; unchanged despite circumstances.

是

shì — Is; am; are; the verb to be in Chinese.

丑恶

chǒu'è — Ugly and evil; morally repulsive and wicked.

具有

jùyǒu — To possess; to have a particular quality or feature.

一种

yī zhǒng — A kind of; one type of something.

天然

tiānrán — Natural; existing in nature without human intervention.

不可避免

bùkě bìmiǎn — Inevitable; impossible to avoid or prevent from happening.

倾向

qīngxiàng — Tendency; inclination toward a particular behavior or outcome.

会将

huì jiāng — Will cause; used to introduce a resulting transformation.

每一种

měi yī zhǒng — Every kind of; each and every type or variety.

高尚

gāoshàng — Noble; morally elevated; having admirable and virtuous qualities.

能力

nénglì — Ability; capability to perform a task or skill.

野蛮化

yěmánhuà — To barbarize; to make something or someone savage and uncivilized.

一名

yī míng — One (person); a single individual, using the classifier 名.

美国

Měiguó — The United States of America.

水手

shuǐshǒu — Sailor; seaman who works aboard a ship.

被

bèi — Passive marker; indicates the subject receives the action.

遗弃

yíqì — To abandon; to desert someone in a helpless situation.

非洲

Fēizhōu — Africa; the second-largest continent on Earth.

海岸

hǎi'àn — Coast; shoreline where land meets the sea.

那里

nàlǐ — There; that place; referring to a location mentioned.

遭受

zāoshòu — To suffer; to undergo hardship, mistreatment, or disaster.

三年

sān nián — Three years; a period of three years.

期满

qīmǎn — Upon expiry; when a set period comes to an end.

之后

zhīhòu — After; afterward; following a particular time or event.

人们

rénmen — People; people in general; referring to folks around.

发现

fāxiàn — To discover; to find or realize something previously unknown.

已

yǐ — Already; indicates a completed state or action.

变得

biànde — To become; to turn into a new state or condition.

野蛮

yěmán — Savage; barbaric; uncivilized and brutal in behavior.

愚钝

yúdùn — Dull-witted; mentally slow and lacking sharpness.

丧失

sàngshī — To lose; to be deprived of something important.

全部

quánbù — All; entire; the complete totality of something.

理性

lǐxìng — Reason; rational thinking; the capacity for logical thought.

思维

sīwéi — Thinking; cognitive process of reasoning and reflection.

忘记

wàngjì — To forget; to fail to remember something.

母语

mǔyǔ — Mother tongue; one's native language learned from birth.

只能

zhǐnéng — Can only; limited to doing only one thing.

发出

fāchū — To emit; to produce a sound, signal, or utterance.

一些

yīxiē — Some; a few; a small or unspecified number of things.

夹杂

jiāzá — To mix together; to intermingle different elements.

阿拉伯语

Ālābóyǔ — Arabic language; Semitic language spoken across the Middle East.

和

hé — And; connecting two nouns, phrases, or clauses.

英语

Yīngyǔ — English language; the language originating from England.

粗野

cūyě — Crude; coarse and rough in manner or expression.

胡言

húyán — Nonsense; incoherent or senseless talk.

无人

wú rén — No one; nobody; not a single person.

能够

nénggòu — To be able to; capable of doing something.

听懂

tīngdǒng — To understand by listening; to comprehend spoken language.

甚至

shènzhì — Even; going so far as; to an extreme degree.

连

lián — Even; including; used to emphasize an extreme case.

自己

zìjǐ — Oneself; yourself; referring back to the subject.

也

yě — Also; too; as well; even in addition.

难以

nányǐ — Difficult to; hard to accomplish a particular action.

发音

fāyīn — Pronunciation; to pronounce or articulate sounds of language.

便是

biàn shì — That is; this is precisely; serving as a conclusion.

所谓

suǒwèi — So-called; what is referred to as; often used ironically.

家庭

jiātíng — Family; household; the basic unit of social life.

人道化

réndàohuà — Humanization; making something more humane or civilized.